Here Are The Latest Twists In The Mysterious Death Of Natalie Wood

Nearly 31 years after her early demise, the cause of Hollywood star Natalie Wood’s death has been officially changed from “accident” to “undetermined,” CBS News reported last week.The details surrounding the death of the 43-year-old star – known for her roles in “West Side Story” and “Miracle on 34th Street” – have always been vague and a little scandalous.

Wood drowned in 1981 off Santa Catalina Island while on a yacht with her actor husband Robert Wagner – whom she’d divorced and remarried – and her co-star in a sci-fi film, Christopher Walken.

While Wagner has spoken many times about Wood’s death, Walken has stayed largely mum on the issue throughout the years.

The investigation into her death was suddenly reopened last year and is ongoing despite the recent change. But here are the bizarre details that have come to light so far.

An ill-fated Thanksgiving yacht trip in November 1981.

In November of 1981, Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner invited Christopher Walken to spend Thanksgiving weekend on their yacht 'The Splendour' off Catalina Island.

On the night of November 28, 1981, the three went to the restaurant Doug's Harbor Reef, drinking at the bar and ordering two more bottles of champagne over dinner, according to Wood's coroner's report.

Things got tense after dinner, Wagner later acknowledged.

Wagner and Walken got into a heated debate the night Wood died.

The night Wood died, he and Walken fiercely debated how much people should sacrifice their personal lives for their work, Wagner told the LA Times in 2008.

Wagner grew upset that Walken had encouraged Wood to devote herself to her work at the expense of her husband and children, Wagner told the LA Times.

Even though the two men fought, Wagner denied Walken was having an affair with Wood.

Wagner grew unhappy with Wood after visiting her on the set of 'Brainstorm,' the movie she starred in with Christopher Walken, telling the LA Times that she'd been 'emotionally unfaithful.'

But Wagner has insisted his wife wasn't having an affair.

In any case, after the fight died down Wood was suddenly nowhere to be found, Wagner said.

After the argument, Wood went to bed and Wagner and Walken went out onto the deck of the boat to calm down and get some fresh air, according to a February 2009 article by Wagner himself in the Daily Mail.

But then he noticed that Wood was no longer on the boat, and that the dinghy on the side of the boat was no longer there, either.

Despite her fear of the water, Wagner claims he never heard Wood scream.

Her 1981 autopsy still listed her death as accidental.

Wagner's call for help after his wife went missing was heard at 1:30 a.m. on November 29.

A police helicopter finally located her body and pulled it out of the water a few hours later at 7:44 a.m. She was wearing a flannel gown and wool socks, and a red down jacket was floating near her.

The coroner found the actress had died around midnight, though it was difficult to pinpoint the exact time of death.

Wagner insisted that his wife wasn't suicidal while talking with authorities.

After 30 years passed, the ship's captain finally proclaimed he lied to investigators.

In a stunning development, the Los Angeles sheriff's department reopened the investigation into Wood's death because of 'unspecified new information about her case,' the AP reported in November 2011.

The captain of the couple's ship, Dennis Davern, told the 'Today' show that month that he lied about the events leading up to Wood's death, but he was extremely cagey about what he lied about.

Davern acknowledged a dispute between Wood and her husband ultimately led to her death, and that Wagner didn't do everything he could to look for his wife after she disappeared.

'It was a matter of 'we're not going to look too hard. We're not going to turn on the search light. We're not going to notify anyone at the moment,'' he told 'Today.'

The former ship captain also blamed Wagner for Wood's death, but he wouldn't say why he was at fault.

'I'm not really the investigator here,' Davern said.

However, the authorities said when they reopened the investigation that Wagner was still not a suspect in the case, the AP reported.

The same month the investigation was reopened, Natalie Wood's sister Lana Wood told the 'Today' show that the events surrounding the star's death just didn't 'add up.'

'Dennis had called me many, many years ago, late in the evening ... Trying to unburden himself,' she told 'Today,' referring to the boat's captain and noting he'd told her he felt like a coward after Wood's death.